Homeowners continue to come to the Lee County property appraiser seeking tax relief for having homes built with Chinese drywall, but the number of new reports has dwindled to a handful, county officials said Friday.

Meanwhile, the remediation rate for those on the list of residences is at about 50 percent.

The list has grown by just 18 since May 2013, rising from 1,939 to 1,957, according to Tomas Pokorny, county IT and data services administrator. Records show 971 homes on the list, or 49.6 percent, have been remediated, he said.

This shows the problem is resolving itself over time, said Ken Wilkinson, county property appraiser.

The sooner people get the term Chinese drywall out of their minds, the better.

"It was a blight," Beneke said Friday. "It came at a time when the economy was having its issues. We didn't need anything extra."

Now building is starting again, and construction is picking up. "From our standpoint, it's great that we don't have the stigma on us anymore," she said. "It's like saying you have the plague."

Congress passed a law in January 2013 barring Chinese drywall from entering the country and the reuse of Chinese drywall already here. At this point, properties on the county list would have to be resales, not new reconstruction, Pokorny said.

Chinese drywall linked to ailments

The drywall, imported mostly between 2004-08, smells foul and emits sulfur compounds that corrode air conditioning coils, electrical wiring, metal appliances, electronics, jewelry and plumbing fixtures. Residents of homes with the drywall complain of health issues from nosebleeds to respiratory problems. The federal Center for Disease Control and Prevention has just issued a report confirming the drywall can be linked to various ailments.

Florida has the highest number of drywall residences. Lee is the focal point of the problem.

Wilkinson began to offer tax relief to defective drywall homeowners in September 2009, the first property appraiser in the state to do so. The Legislature followed suit, passing a law in 2010. The law is in effect until July 1, 2017.

"I'm proud of the fact that we were able to react as quick as we did and get the legislature to accept our recommendations," Wilkinson said.

The tax break is not automatic for those who report having the drywall. You have to be able to prove it by meeting county criteria. The verification process and documents needed are outlined on the drywall page of the property appraiser's website.

Homeowners who meet criteria will have their home value dropped to $10. But they have to pay taxes on the value of the land the home sits on.

Frank and Betty Schmitt were on the list, but their Fort Myers home was eventually fixed by their builder. In the interim, they were able to get a tax break.

"Well, I thought he did the right thing," Schmitt said of the property appraiser. "Our house was worth nothing."

Those on the list may not be the only homes in the county with drywall, Pokorny said. "There are some who have not reported it or are not aware of it or the issues are not significant enough to do something about it." He could not give an estimate of how many more are out there.

Condo owners face the same challenges as homeowners but get less of a tax break. Condos have no land value, because the land is all owned commonly. To address the issue, the county bases the tax break for condo owners on the difference between the sale price of a condo without defective drywall, and one with defective drywall.

In 2011, the tax break for condos was 50 percent. In 2012, it was 23 percent. For 2013, the number is 20 percent. The number for 2014 is not available yet, Pokorny said.